Torrent description

It's a measure of the chaos in Iraq following the fall of Saddam Hussein that the US-led reconstruction team took to pounding the streets of Baghdad, randomly asking passers-by if they knew anyone who'd once worked in any of the country's ministries.

The team, led by Jay Garner, was desperate to start rebuilding Iraq's devastated infrastructure. The problem, according to reporter John Ware, was that no-one had a plan for what to do after the war was over.

Even the most mundane of practical needs was impossible to meet - there were no desks for workers to sit at. Without water and power, the country was gripped by looting that Ware describes as being "on an industrial scale", with gangs stripping the national museum of its priceless treasures.

Probably none of this will come as much of a surprise, but hearing officials and former army chiefs admit to their bafflement at the level of US government incompetence is chilling. "The place [Iraq] was held together by chicken wire and chewing gum," says one.

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Original title: No Plan, No Peace - The Inside Story of Iraq's Descent into Chaos